West Ham players opt not to fly

Ken Dyer13 April 2012

West Ham have cancelled plans to fly to Teesside tomorrow for Saturday's match at Middlesbrough.

The East London club had planned to fly the team to the north east by charter aircraft but have decided instead to make the long journey by road following the tragic events in New York.

It is understood that several members of West Ham's senior squad expressed their preference to make the journey by road, after watching the terrorist attack unfold on TV.

"Everyone has been deeply affected by what has happened this week and in different ways," said West Ham manager Glenn Roeder, "so there was no problem changing our travelling arrangements."

West Ham's Italian striker Paolo Di Canio has been a reluctant flier in the past, although he could miss Saturday's match anyway because of a tendon injury.

First-team coach Paul Goddard said: "We sat in the hotel before the Worthington Cup tie on Tuesday and we couldn't believe what we were seeing on TV. After the game we were obviously disappointed to lose on penalties but a few of the lads did admit that they were struggling to concentrate on football that night. It wasn't an excuse but just an honest reaction to what they had seen."

Meanwhile, West Ham's Premiership match at home to Aston Villa on Wednesday will be put back as Villa's UEFA Cup tie against Varteks, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed until next week along with the rest of the European club programme.

Czech Republic defender Tomas Repka, due to complete his £5 million signing today from Fiorentina, should make his debut at Middlesbrough.

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